Michigan Panthers head coach Jeff Fisher took a team to the Super Bowl in 1999, as well as five other NFL playoff appearances.
Kevin Sumlin, now of the Houston Gamblers, coached quarterback Johnny Manziel to a Heisman Trophy and led Texas A&M to an upset win over No. 1 Alabama in 2012 and a win in the Cotton Bowl in January 2013.
In other words, they know what winning football at the highest levels looks like. Yet on Sunday, the two weren’t under the bright lights again. Heck, they were coaching in the spring in a partially filled stadium abut three miles from the UAB campus in Birmingham, Alabama.
They stood opposite one another on the sidelines of Protective Stadium in the first weekend of the reboot of the USFL — which lasted three seasons from 1983-85 in its first go-round — leading dozens of former collegiate stars who are trying to keep their football dream alive.
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It’s the third pro football league to start up over the past four years. The American Alliance of Football was scheduled to play 10 weeks in 2019, only to fold after Week 8. The XFL, itself a reboot of a one-season league from 2001 — lasted just one season in 2020.
The USFL is still in its infancy, its future uncertain, but the men in charge, who’ve coached at much higher levels, were optimistic after their first game.
“Personally, for me, it was a blast,” Fisher said — not exactly a common response to a loss, much less a 17-12 score that came down to the final play. “The first time I stepped foot here with this staff three or four weeks ago, I’ve been having fun since.”
Sumlin concurred.
“Look at both games … last night’s game too,” he said, referencing Birmingham’s 28-24 win over New Jersey on Saturday night. “If that’s any indication, I don’t know if you can get anything more exciting than (the game being decided on) the last play of the game the first two games.
“Our guys are having a ball doing it.”
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The league knows it has to differentiate itself and is doing so through different rules and a new broadcasting dynamic.
For starters, multiple players and coaches wore microphones during the game. Not only does that give the fan more ambient noise, it allows the broadcast team to analyze at a deeper level.
It was early in the first quarter, when Houston quarterback Clayton Thorson — better known as a multi-year starter at Northwestern — was heard saying, ‘Four verts’, a play dedicated “Madden” players know as all wide receivers running go routes.
The broadcast team recognized the defensive front as well and clued viewers to “Watch for the tight end who should be running up the seam.”
Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened — but Thorson’s ball came just a moment too late and Panthers safety Tino Ellis broke up the would-be touchdown.
Then, there were more colorful moments, such as when the Panthers returned a punt for a touchdown only to have it called back by a penalty. A Panthers special teams player ran back toward his sideline, telling an unidentified Gambler “Let’s do it again, I’ll knock you on your ass again.”
And then there’s the rule changes, which Sumlin said changes his approach.
“For the fans it’s great; for the coaches, it’s not so great,” he joked. “I would say I don’t think (the games being this close) is going to change that much just of the rules.
“You look at the scoreboard and say, ‘If they score, it’s 17-12, do they go for the field goal, then take the onside kick and go for the points there?’ because there’s all kinds of scenarios — 3-point plays, 2-point plays — the strategy at that point is different for everybody, and I think it keeps the fans interested and the coaches on their toes.”
The league is also looking for more big plays. That’s why there are 3-point conversions, the option of going for a fourth-and-12 as a type of onside kick and kickoffs from the team’s own 25-yard line in order to create in more kick returns.
If the initial numbers are any indication, the fans tuned in: with a reported audience of more than 3 million for Saturday night’s game, which was broadcast on Fox and NBC.
And the coaches didn’t even get to see the some of the newer elements aimed at fans, such as the helmet cams, which gave viewers a point of view as if they carried the ball.
One of Sunday’s most exciting plays, a 90-yard scoop-and-score, was immediately replayed from the drone cam from just above the field.
The technological improvements extended to ground level, too: When a fourth-down play was in question late, refs turned to a tracker implanted in the ball for an accurate spot, rather then eyeballing the call and using chains, as has been the case in the NFL and NCAA for practically forever.
And then there are the players. They don’t all come with name recognition, but Panthers fans — or perhaps just those who are Panthers-curious, as it might be too early for true fandom — have starting quarterback Shea Patterson, who spent two seasons leading Michigan football, to cheer for.
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By himself, the No. 1 overall pick in the USFL draft moves the needle. The Panthers’ roster also features a few former Big Ten stars, such as running back Stevie Scott III (who had 18 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown Sunday) and Ellis, a corner at Maryland.
“This is a good football team,” Fisher said in a message to the fans. “We’re going to find ways to win.”
The high-profile coaches said they believe there is an appetite for football in the spring.
Will the USFL be successful? It’s too soon to say.
But if the opening weekend is a precursor of what’s to come, it’s going to at least be entertaining, and that’s a good place to start.